Six Viruses Responsible for 10 - 15% of All Cancers Worldwide
Despite decades of emphasis on putative man-made carcinogens, and a corresponding tendency to dismiss nature's brutish side as a possible cause of cancer, the case for viruses in causing human cancers has only gotten stronger. In "Human tumor-associated viruses and new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cancer" the roll of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV respectively), human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) and Kaposi's associated sarcoma virus (KSHV) in a significant percentage of human cancers is discussed along with insights into molecular biological mechanisms and some very interesting thoughts about how these insights might reveal other heretofore unsuspected viral-induced cancers, novel treatments and public health strategies to reduce cancer by preventing viral infections.
